Backed by a display of law enforcement officers and the latest in criminal technology, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman and Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder announced on Wednesday morning, Aug. 27, the creation of a new 40-person Police Strategic Response Team intended to respond to problems at schools and large public gatherings, including places of worship.
“It will be used initially for the school openings and to make sure everything goes smoothly, and they will be available every day that schools are open,” Blakeman said during a news conference. “But we will have the flexibility to use them in various situations.”
County officials said the unit will also receive regular intelligence briefings to identify possible hot spots where tensions might arise, such as concerts, illegal car rallies and political protests.
Nassau has been regularly ranked the safest county in the United States, but the wisdom of the added security steps was demonstrated even before the press conference began.
That’s when reports broke that two Catholic school students, 8 and 10 years old, had been killed in the pews of Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis by a heavily armed assailant who fired through the windows during the first mass of the school year.
Fifteen other children, ranging in age from 6 to 16 and three worshipers in their 80s were injured. One of the children was listed in critical condition. Survivors said the death toll could have been far higher but for the heroic response of the church staff, teachers, at least one parent and fellow students who covered children as young as preschoolers with their own bodies.
Ten-year-old Weston Halsner, a fifth grader who was present during the shooting, calmly told reporters that students had practiced active-shooter drills in school, but never in church. He said he was saved by a friend who lay on top of him and was hit.
The skill of doctors at the hospitals where the injured were taken and their familiarity with treating gunshot victims may have also played a role in limiting the death toll to two young children praying in the church.
The assailant, identified as Robin Westman, a 23-year-old who was reported to have attended Annunciation Catholic School, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was found with a semi-automatic rifle, a pump-action shotgun and a semi-automatic pistol. The weapons and associated magazines featured disturbing slurs, hate-filled slogans, and references to past mass shooters.
All three firearms were said to have been legally purchased before the attack.
In a clear indictment of this country’s lack of adequate gun-safety laws, Nassau County school districts—like those across the country—train students starting in the lowest grades to respond to potential active shooters. Just as was done at Annunciation Catholic School. Students learn at an early age to literally fear for their lives when they go to school. What a sad lesson.
The Farmingdale School District hosted an active shooter walkthrough at its high school in July. The walkthrough included scenarios in which lockdowns were initiated, armed security responded immediately to the scene, and then coordinated with local law enforcement to eliminate and recover from the threat.
A day after the shooting in Minneapolis, Plainedge High School had a walkthrough to demonstrate the latest security technology installed by the district.
But if the shooting in Minneapolis teaches us anything, it is that these safety steps are not enough. Even in the safest county in the United States. Even with schools following what has now become standard protocol and security entrances and holding active shooter drills.
The K-12 School Shooting Database shows there have been 146 school shooting incidents in 2025. The threat to schools has drastically increased in recent years as the database tracks more than 100 school shooting incidents each year since 2017 and over 300 school shooting incidents in each of the past three years. Firearm injuries have been identified as the leading cause of death for U.S. children and teens.
The reason for what the U.S. Surgeon General has called a public health crisis is guns. There are more guns in this country than people. And no place has easier access.
Yes, the quality of mental health care is a problem in this country. And yes, more money should be spent on providing care.
Law enforcement is now investigating why Robin Westman went to kill young children praying in church. We can probably safely assume he had mental health issues, like many of the others who have committed shootings in this country.
But there are mentally ill people in other Western countries without the mass killings we experience in schools and churches.
And mass shootings are not limited to schools and churches in this country. They take place in New York City office buildings, country music concerts, movie theaters and just every other place where large numbers of people gather.
In remarks outside the church, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey rightly said, “Don’t just say this about thoughts and prayers right now. These kids were literally praying. It’s the first week of school. They were in church.”
There are many gun-safety steps that have been proven effective in reducing the slaughter of innocents, many supported by a large majority of Americans.
New York State has already enacted many sensible gun-safety laws, but the recent New York City office shooting showed how that falls short when other states do not.
Creating strike forces and investing money in the latest technology can reduce the risk of mass shooters and improve response times when they do occur.
But those steps are not enough to stop the carnage. That would take meaningful national legislation.
Perhaps we will now honor the lives lost in Minneapolis and this will be the time we insist that action be taken.
